Inertia actuated valve device



1940- H. J. DE N. MCCOLLUM 2,225,315,

7 INERTIA ACTUATED VALVE DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1 932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1III/I4.

ft I n.

ATTORNEY Dec. 17, 1940. H. .1. DE N. MCOLLUM 2,225,315

INERTIA ACTUATED VALVE DEVICE 7 Filed Dec. 5, 1952 is Sheets-Sheet 2NTOR ATTORNEY 1940- H. J. DE N. McCOLLUM Q 2,225,315

INERTIA ACTUATED VALVE DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1932 s Sheets-Sheet 3Willi/Illa VIII "1,111,101. I w l I W,

mt lmnmmg ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 17, 1940 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICEINERTIA ACTUATED VALVE DEVICE Henry J. De N. McCollum, Elberon, N. J.

Application December 3, 1932, Serial No. 645,576

20 Claims.

This invention relates generally to valve apparatus mounted on movablesupports and actuated by the inertia of certain loosely suspended orsupported masses, or by the inertia of certain portions of such movablesupports, but more par-' ticularly it is designed to produce anautomatically operated valve apparatus for installation on motor carswhich will act to check the closing or engaging movement of the powertransmission clutch whenever the car begins to move, or when and whileits motion is being sharply accelerated, as when changing from second tothird or to any higher gear.

The main object of the invention is to enable the automatic,power-operated clutch-actuating devices now coming into quite generaluse to produce the desired clutch engagement without grabbing andjumping of the clutch parts when starting the car from a position ofrest, or when stepping up from one gear to another in getting the carunder full speed, and thus avoiding any jerking of the car forward orbackward suddenly which would produce discomfort of the occupants andstraining of the car mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to perfect or further improve theaction or effect during clutch engagement first above describedheretofore produced by the various forms of automatic two-stage, clutchclosing mechanism heretofore devised and designed to secure the aboveoutlined results, a number of which mechanisms are shown in, anddescribed in, the co-pending application Ser. No. 509,910 filed by JamesH. K. McCollum and myself under date of January 17, 1931, now Patent No.2,219,269 of October 22, 1940, No. 516,368 filed February 17, 1931, nowPatent No. 1,952,767 of March 27, 1934, No. 587,880 filed January 21,1932, now Patent No. 2,181,491 of November- 28, 1939, and in mycopending application No. 594,802 filed February 24, 1932, now PatentNo. 1,938,080, of December 5, 1933.

In such previously illustrated apparatus of the type above outlined theclutch actuating or controlling lever or other member is permitted tomove rapidly during the first portion of its clutch closing movement,and then, at or about the time the clutch members reach their initialcontact of engagement, this rate of motion is automatically sloweddown,'and thereafter continues at a-slower speed till complete clutchclosure has been effected. I have found, however, that such ,and Ihave'further discovered that what is needed to produce perfectsmoothness of clutch engagement for a motor car is the addition of somemechanism which will practically stop the movement of the clutchcontrolling lever or member at the moment when initial clutch engagementhas produced suflicient friction to start, or further accelerate,-themotion of the car, or as soon thereafter as possible, and subsequently,when the car motion has been sufliciently accelerated, permit the clutchclosing movement of such clutch lever to be slowly completed.

If an apparatus for this purpose could be devised which would act when,and only when, the movement of the car is begun, or is sharplyaccelerated, the result desired would be achieved, and I have discoveredthat just that can be accomplished by utilizing the inertia of a massloosely supported on the car, or that of a portion of the car itself notrigidly connected to its traction apparatus, to operate a bleed or"leakage valve for a pneumatic clutch actuating apparatus equipped withany. one of the twostage control devices now going into general use. Thelast mentioned type of pneumatic apparatus comprises a cylinder andpiston, or air chamber with a flexible diaphragm therein, and themovement of the piston or diaphragm is checked (at or about the time theinitial clutch engagement occurs) by shutting 011 the free flow of airto or from-such cylinder or chamber, and thereafter permitting only arestricted inflow or outflow through a small "leakage port or bleed"connection. It, then, the opening and closing of such bleed port orconnection is controlled and effected by the inertia of. a mass whichmust be eventually put in motion, or accelerated in motion, as a resultof this initial clutch closure, and such bleed or leakage port isthereby closed at that moment, the movement of the piston or diaphragmwill be stopped, instead of merely slowed down, at that moment, and willbe resumed at the slower speed of the second of the two-stage" rates ofmovement after the inertia of the loosely supported mass has beenovercome by 'the' ates, and thereby closes the bleed or leakage porttemporarily; (2) a flywheel, spring driven from the car transmission,which similarly lags and starts, or begins to accelerate and (3) atorqueV I operated bleed valve which is closed 'whenever ,..power is appliedto the tractor wheelsof the car'.

"by the motor, or such power is sharply increased in torque producingeii'ect, with vtheresult that the inertia. of the car body creates; asudden torque, or sudden increase of torque, on theaxle housing, or onthe floating motor, which torque or increase thereof flexes thesupportingsprings and produces the slight relative motion needed:

to close, or partly close,,the bleed valve. The best forms of apparatus,at present known to me,

embodying the above outlined modifications of: my invention, areillustrated :in theaccompanying three sheets of drawingsin which:

Fig.; l is a diagrammatic side elevation of the pneumatic clutchactuating mechanism with the pendulum form of my invention appliedthereto.

Fig. 2 shows a modification in which the bleed controlling valve isdouble acting.

Fig. 3 shows .a similar form equipped with means for permittingautomatic adjustment of the parts when the car is standing or running onan incline, and

Fig. 3a shows a sliding weight acting like a pendulum.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation and partial section of another form ofautomatic adjusting apparatus, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section thereof taken on line 5-4 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 5a shows a slight modification of the form shown inFlgs. 4 and5. i

Fig. 6 is a detail side viewofanother form of pendulum apparatuspand l iFig. ,7 is an enlarged detail partly shown in sectiontaken on line 1-1oi Fig; 6.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view partly in section of the fly wheel type ofembodiment of my invention, and i i I Fig. 8a shows a simpler formthereof. 1

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view partly in section of the third form of myinvention in which the inertia of the car itself, acting through thetorque between rear axle and axle housing, operates the bleed valve, and

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a motor with the chassisshown in cross section, in

charmotor shaft, I2I representing the driven :disk connected tothetransmission mechanism; I22

representing the lever by which disk I isshifted into or out ofengagement with disk I2l,and 1 I23 representingwthe link connectinglever I22 with the clutch actuating lever I, which is mounts ed on theshaft 2. The systemof springs by which the clutch isnormally held.in,,engagement, and .the lever I swung in a clockwise direction, isrepresented at I. A pneumatic servomotor for opening andclosing theclutch is illustratedas being composed of a cylinder] containing apiston 15 with a piston rod 4 extending through the skeleton cylinderhead I and pivoted at I to the clutch lever I. Cylinder I is pivoted at9 to any convenient bracket Il carried by the chassis. Ii is a pieceofflexible copper tubing fold from thein-terior of cylinder 8.

necessary toproduce thefriction required to precenterof gravity islocated atone side of a ver- Q interior :ofthe valve casing I2, saidvalve casing also .bein'g. conn,ected by pipe It to the intake 'manifold'of theffmotor not shown) g'lhe Poppet ".valve; is is normally held 'bycompression spring 5 [I61 againsttheport to which pipe is connected.

butahaswits stem: I3 connected by wire 12a to. the accelerator pedalofrthe car"(not shown), the partsbeing soproportioned that during thelast portion of the movement of said accelerator pedal, 10 when theoperator takeshis; foot 01! of it, the wire Ila-is put "undertension andpulls valve I 5 away from its seat so as to complete communicationthrough pipes I I and II to the intake mani- 15 2| and 22 are smallports in the wall of cylinder 6 connectedtogether by the by-pass conduit20. As a result, when the valve I5 is closed and the intake manifoldsuctionis thereby shut oif, the

clutch springs I will swing lever I in a clockwise 20 direction and pullpiston 5 from the closed end of cylinder 6 toward the open end thereof,and during the first: portion of the travel of said piston air will flowfreely through the skeleton cylinder head 1, port 22, by-passconduit 20and port 2|, 25 to the cylinderfspacebehind the piston 5 and, as air canalso iiow into pipe II through the port I8 in the wallthereof andthrough the very small leakage port II, the piston travels rapidly tothe rightuntil it closes the port 22, the parts beins'ao so adjustedthat at or about that moment the clutch plates I20 and I2I makesuillciently close contact one with another to start the car, all asshownin Fig.1.

At the end of this first stage of the clutch clos- 35 ing movement nomore air can pass through port 2Ito the space behind piston 5 and aircan enter that space only slowly as it is drawn in through ports I8 andI1. As a result the second stage of movement of the lower lever I underthe influence 40 of spring 2 is much slower than the first stage and theamount of such motion necessary to put the plates I 2| and I; and theconnections I 22 and launder; the full state of strain which is ventslippingof the clutch when the motor is op- 45 crating at its fullcapacity is spread over an appreciable interval of time. during whichthe motion of the car can be quite rapidly accelerated without theclutch plates grabbing and jumping. 50 The two-Stage actionlast abovedescribedis such as is produced by the apparatus of the co-pendingapplications above mentioned, and the twostage feature in the presentcase is produced by use of the by-pass through 22,320 and 2i. The 55present, invention maybe advantageously added to such two-stageapparatus to further improve the two-stage 1operationpor may be employedalone to produce a two-stage operation by itself, and the form of thesaid present invention illustrated in Fig. ,lfiwillnow be described andits operationexplained.

The pipe Ilia usuallygiven a convolution of 'one coil II to facilitatethe slightllwlnling motion of cylinder lonitspivot I, and the convex 65surface of such coil forms a convenient location for the leakage port Itin the wall thereof so that the, pad of chamois or other softmateriai llcarried by the swinging weight or pendulum 23 may becpressed against theedges of port II when- 70 everweight 22 swings toward andagainsttheadiacent surface of the coil: ll.

Pendulum .22 swings from pivot 24 carried! by bracket 25 clamped to anupper portion of the pipe I I, and its tical line passing through pivot24, when the pendulum isin theposition shown in Fig. 1, and saidpendulum is held in that position by slight tension of the rubber band21 which passes around the anchor hook 28 screwed into any convenientanchorage 23 and held in any desired position of adjustment by thelocknut 30. When, however, the piston 5 has reached a position closingport 22, as indicated in Fig. l, and the clutch plates I20 and I 2| havemade their initial contact, as there indicated, the car will begin tomove, carrying bracket 25 with it toward the left, whereupon the inertiaof pendulum 23 will cause it to lag behind the motion of the pivot 24and further distend rubber band 21 until said pendulum has swung farenough tocause the pad of chamois 26 to be forced against port I3 andclose the same. 'I'hereupon no more air can enter cylinder 6, except thevery small quantity flowing through the minute leakage port I1 (11 sucha leakage port is employed), and consequently the previously rapidmovements of piston 5 and lever I are practically arrested, and nofurther movement of the clutch plate l2l occurs until the force ofgravity acting on pendulum 23 has begun to swing it back towards itsnormal position shown in Fig. 1, thereby opening the leakage port l8 andpermitting the piston 5 to slow- Lv complete the second stage of itsmovement and allow clutch springs 3 to put the clutch connections understrains suflicient to cause frictional engagement between the clutchplates which will prevent them slipping, even when the motor isdelivering its maximum power.

It is to be understood, of course, that ports l1, l3, 2| and 22 must besufllciently restricted in area to enable the suction of the intakemanifold, when valve I5 is pulled to the right, to move the piston 5 tothe closed end of cylinder 6 and open the clutch fully, overcoming theresistance of clutch springs 3.

The apparatus thus shown in Fig. 1 will operate whenever the car isstarted forward by putting the transmission gearing into first speed, orwhen its motion is further accelerated by shifting from first to secondor second tothird or any higher gear, but it will not operate when thegear is in reverse. To prevent clutch grabbing or jumping when the caris being run backward a double acting bleed valve 36, 36, should beemployed such as illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 2. The bleed port32 is then formed in a short coupling sleeve 3| inserted between twosections of the pipe II, and said valve is pivotally connected to thependulum 33 swung from pivot 34 on bracket 35. In place of the rubberband 21 shown in Fig. 1, opposed helical springs 31, 31 are shownanchored at points 39, 33, and connected to pendulum 33 by the screw 33.The inner valve 36 may be screwed on the stem after the coupling 3! hasbeen disconnected from one of the pipe sections II and the end of thevalve stem has been inserted through port 32.

If either of the sets of apparatus above described is adjusted forsatisfactory operation on a level stretch of road, I have found that itwill not operate satisfactorily when the car is standing on, or going upor down, a sharp grade and to overcome this difilculty some automaticselfadjusting mechanism must be provided for devices of this pendulumtype, such for instance as that illustrated in Fig. 3. In this apparatusthe single valve 46 has a double action by reason of its being locatedbetween the port 42 in the end of the nipple 40, extending from the pipell,

and the port 4| in the cap 460 screwed into the end of nipple 40, andthis valve is connected to the corrugated metal diaphragm 41 mounted onone end of the casing 43. A-tthe other end of this casing a clothdiaphragm 43, preferably of larger area, is connected by link 43:: topendulum 43 suspended from pivot 44 on flxed bracket 43.

If the air or other fluid contained in casing 43' is substantiallyconfined therein it is evident that vibrations of the pendulum 43 willcause a flexing of diaphragm 43 which will be reproduced in diaphragm 41to even greater extent, on account of the lesser diameter of the latterdiaphragm, and that consequently valve 46 will close either port 4! or42, according to the direction in which pendulum 43'swings, when the caris started forwardor backward, and that the bleed inlet to pipe II willaccordingly be instantly closed, with a result such as described withreference to F185. 1 and 2. The metal diaphragm 41 is less flexible thancloth diaphragm 43 and. normally tends to stay in the mid position shownin Fig. 3 so that air may flow in succession through ports 4| and 42 tothe interior of pipe II. If the carstarts to climb a hill or descend onethe diaphragm 43 will be slowly flexed in one direction or another, butso slowly that the necessary amount of air may leak in or out throughthe very small port 53 before the change in the tension of the trappedair has become sufficient to flex diaphragm 41,

and if said diaphragm is temporarily flexed while the car is running itdoesn't matter. as the clutch is then continuously engaged. Consequentlyvalve 46 will remain in neutral position while the car is climbing thehill or descending a grade and the necessary readjustment will occurreversely when the car straightens out on the level. If at any time,however, while the car is on a hill or on the level it is started fromrest to motion or turns to a vertical position, or the tension of theair in casing 48 equalizes with that of the external atmosphere,whereupon valve 46 will return to neutral or mid position shown in Fig.3. In either case the period dm'lng which the clutch closing movementshould be arrested, will have elapsed.

A self adjusting valve mechanism of this type could be operated by asliding weight instead of a pendulum, as diagrammatically illustrated inFig. 3a, where weight 223 slides on horizontal rod 225, supported on thechassis. Opposed springs 221, 221 hold weight 223 in mid position, butit slides one way or the other as the car suddenly accelerates ordecelerates, starts or stops, and then flexes a diaphragm like 43,connected to it by link 243. Weight 223 should be hung on anti-frictionbearings 224, 224.

Another idea of means for accomplishing this automatic self adjustmentof the pendulum-0perated apparatus when the car runs onto or oif of agrade in the roadway is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. In this apparatusthe valve 56 controls the bleed port l8 and its stem projects into thesolenoid 63 serving as a movable core therefor. 63 is a non-magneticextension of the valve stem which acts as a stop to limit the inwardmotion 4 v v asaasis a l g g o! the valve underthe ll'lc or sprin up inset ing in ent iuu II coniined betweentheendotthesolenoidlpooi It. theportion were oi iron or magnetic so as to closethe valve port 1a., If,however, the extension OI, which like the valve stem is slidable throughthe; cmteroi solenoid. he. made oi "spring "which would then continueQtoenpand until the pin. ll: came to arestiagainstthe pipe H. :Theciosedpositions of thevaive and of that extension lltareindlcated indotted lines. v is a removableplug in thewalioi pipe liopposi bleed portll which may be removed tofpermit valve 1 to be shovedintolpositionzthrough said pipe. II is thesolenoid circuit including asource Moi. electricity conventionally indicated at I! and havingoneterminai OI set in. the longerpendu- .lum 55, while the other.terminalioi said circuit is connectedto bothlcontactz members 82;]2.

carried by the shorterpendulum I and located on either side of. V issuspended @trcm pivot llai in a fixed housing ii and the shorterpendulum'fil is suspended from pivot set in :theslottedtrame 55b of thelonger pendulum 55. i A double acting dash-pot is provided for dampingany movement of the longerpendulum ii and cylinder 63 containing a bodyof viscous liquid 68 in which piston 84. having the small lby-passopening $1, is immersed. said cylinder 63 being mounted on a fixedbaseeand said piston' being connected by :piston rod 86 to the bellcrank arm I l 65 projecting from pendulurnzli.

Also such dampingaction may. be produced by placing a projecting fin orpaddle ill on the 45 lower end of pendulum l5 andimmersing that inanother body of viscous liquidili which is; carried in a narrowtroughI21 traversed bysaid oscillates, all

paddle whenever the pendulum as indicated in Fig. 5a.. 50 .The operationoithis species tarded in its osclllationsrby-the dash-spot or trough-and-paddle. apparatus above described.

that when thevcar is suddenly started or accelquickly swing far enoughand=fast1 enough to close contact betweenJl and one of its contactmembers 62, energizing solenoid lthfand close bleed port i8 and hold itclosed until theparts 60. come to equilibrium in or near mid positionshown in. Fig. 4. Wheneverthe car goes upor down grade the lcngpendulum]! will slowly swing on-its pivot iiavand readjust itseli'invertical position, but the shorter pendulum: will 65 also similarlyreadjust itself and themotion of will occur as the result of said changeof grade.

Again it may benotedthat any :temporary en;

75 tion will be effected when it is started, and when and thejcross pinll mount'ed'in said vaive stem d material, thesameas is. thevaivestem,:the magq netic pull oi. the soienoidll wouldwhave iittlepii any.elect in moving said valve stem to the right non-magneticmaterialfiaabove described, the, eii'ective pull or the isolenoidxonithemagnetic 1 The longer pendulum 65 this may. comprises of apparatus is asfollows: i The longer pendulum II is so reboth willbe so slow, as thegradeof the road slowly changes, that no contact between]! and r 82and'lanotheriorn oi pendulum opin which a plugvaiverototing on: its!axis issuhstitiited ior poppet valve hereto!ore dcsci'lbed.;\Insaid fiures of drawings .Il iaa piper. iittingjorfnipple screwed plugi'llandfltting fliNand plus 314 :is also cenat'lll totcommunicate withpassage; ili fendulum :18 is hung on the projecting :ofpiug "It andclamped thereto by set'screww'll in isuchposition: that when bans! e tcally the through passage i2 is opento atmosphere, and may enter thepipe coiiu ll, but it pendulum I3 is swung ito either-side plugjll turnswith it and e "is gradually closedoill'arid the bleed Asitheminertiaioijany loosely mounted mass may be; substituted. for that0! a pendulum to actuate the valveqin the general manner heretoforeindicated in Fig. 3a, a convenient form of such floating mass is aspring driven flywheel such as shownatgl tin Fig. 8.1 Sucha fly wheelmechanisml develops an unexpected 1 advantage in that, :asits motion isone. of. rotation instead oitranslation. it may be geared directly tothe transmission shalt, (arm the clutch plate shaft, and sourespondstovariations in the revolutions thereof even before those variaticnshavebeen transmitted to thetraction :wheels Consequently it} is themostxsensitive and promptly responsive form of "motion lag? device I ahave been able tdso iardevelop; It such flywheel is looselyjournaledisnd; spring-driven from any point in the line of power trongearing, deformation of the spring wlllbe caused by the varying degreesor torque to which: it is subiected asthe motion ofinthe car or issharply increased" or decreased. Consequently relative motionxbetweenparts so caused may be employed to operate the valve controlling thebleedto or fromthe servo-motor. One form of such apparatus tisdiagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 8 where the servo-motorcylinder 6has a direct bleed connection by pipette, to the interior-oi valvecasingand said bleed connection maybe closed by motionof the piston valve "atothe right, thereby closing the air inlet port ll. A small leakage portl is may be bored throughthe wall oiplpe 880.. Link 80 connects valve Intolever I! which hasa fixed pivot II and a fork on it's free endengaginggroove 92 in the worm sleeve 82 on whichflyj wheel 83 is fastened. 88 isan anchoringring fast on the wormshatt ll and 'll'is a torsion springant ch'ored to'ringllat one end and to sleeve 82 at the other. It is aprojecting portion of the spiral gear shaft bywhlch the speedometer andodometer are usuallydriven.x It projects from gear box III, and suchspiral "gearing is: indicated at ll;

When the car is moving at a uniform speed torsion spring ll will:onlybejsllghtly flexed to the extent necessar'yto overcome the friction ofthe air on ily wheel", but, if the car is suddenly accelerated orstarted into movement iron: a

condition of rest, the inertia of fly wheel 83 will 82 longitudinallyalong the worm shaft until the increased torque fiexure of spring 88 hasovercome this inertia and gradually speeded' up the fly wheel 83 tosynchronism with the worm shaft 8l. The relative movement of translationof sleeve 82 with reference to fixed point 88 then caused by the slightrelative revolution of worm shaft 8| in said sleeve, will oscillatelever 81 and move valve 88a in one direction or the other suificientlytopartly or wholly close off the bleed connection 88a, with the resultof arresting wholly or partly the clutch closing movement of piston 8temporarily, in the manner hereinbefore described.

The valve portionof the above outlined apparatus may be combined withthe fly wheel mechanism, as indicated in Fig. 8a, where the two ringsI88, I88, sliding on an extension of shaft 8| take the placeof the valvecasing 88, and said shaft extension'is turned into a valve by the axialand radial borings l88a cooperating with the said rings, as valve 88adid with casing 88. It only remains to connect bleed pipe 88a, and thiscan be done by any desired form of revoluble joint.

Such joint, as indicated in Fig. 811, comprises a muff coupling member88 connected to 88a, and a graphite, combined-packing-and-lubricatingring 88 seated on flange I82 near the end of shaft M. The oppositeannular bearing for ring 88 is formed by ring 88 on or near the end ofcoupling mem- .ber 88. Suction from the bleed pipe will hold the so Thefly wheel type of inertia apparatus works equally well whether the caris on a level or on a grade, whether in the middle of the road or withits wheels on one side down in-a ditch, so that no compensatingmechan'ism,such as illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 is required.

The pendulum type of inertia devices hereinbefore described are allsubject to one minor fault in that their action on the valve cannotoccur until an appreciable interval of time has elapsed after thegradually increased degree of contact of the clutch plates and theincreasing friction between them, have begun to move the car from aposition of rest, or to accelerate its motion after a change of gears.This minor fault is eliminated or reduced to a minimum by the second andthird forms of the embodiments of my invention, the latter beingillustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10.

As in the fly wheel type the valve is operated quite independently ofany motion of the car, and it will operate as quickly and fully if thecar be suspended free, or partly free, of the'ground, as

when run on a brake test.

In the third type now to be described the inertia of the car body, motorand chassis and parts carried thereby, is employed to actuate the valvethe instant the motor torque, or any sharp increase thereof, is appliedto the driving shaft or axle of the car, so that the moment the clutchplates engage suificiently to transmit torque or any increase thereof tothe driving axle the bleed valve is closed simultaneously with themovement or. increased movement of other portions (the traction creatingparts) of the car. One form of mechanism embodying this modification ofthe invention is illustrated in Fig. 9 and comprises a simple cable orrod 88 connected at one end by screw hook 88 to the lower surface of thedifl'erential casing I88 and at its other end connected by pin 88 to astrong spring 81 anchored to any fixed portion 88 of the chassis ormotor casing. The double acting valve 38, 38 is then again operated toclose the bleed opening 32 in pipe II, being carried by the bent lever38a oscillating, as a bellcrank, on a fixed pivot 83 and having itsshorter arm connected by link 8l to pin 85. The other parts of the caroutlined in this figure comprise the chassis I88, the motor I8 I, gearcase I82, fly whegl I88, transmission shaft l8l, floating axle I81, axlehousing I88 and the U-clips I88 fastening the axle housing I88 to thesprings I88 which are pivoted to the chassis at 8 and to the springshackles l l I at their other, rear-ends in the usual manner. Wheneverthe clutch is thrown into en-. gagement and the axle I8'I is startedinto rotation in a counterclockwise direction to drive the car ahead,the axle housing and diiferential housing are immediately subjected to asudden and equally powerful torque (by the reaction) in the opposite, orclockwise, direction and the springs I88 flex slightly to permit aslight turning movement of the differential casing, accordingly. Thiscauses cable 88 to slightly relieve the tension on the spring '81, whichthereupon contracts and gives valve lever 38a a slight rotation aboutits pivot 83 in a clockwise direction sumcient to close the bleed port32. When the reverse gear is in mesh and the car is backed up, a reverseaction occurs and valve lever 38a is slightly swung in acounterclockwise direction, thereby causing the other valve head 36 toagain close port 32. The valve lever 38a may be made light enough toflex slightly if excessive motion of the differential casing is morethan suflicient to close valve 38.

In Fig. 10 the inertia of the car itself may similarly operate toactuate the bleed valve through the floating power mounting, now cominginto use. In this figure l8I again represents the motor casing which issupported by feet H2, H2, resting on rubber springs Ill, I ll, supportedon lugs H3, H3, bolted to the chassis I88. Bolts H5, H5, passing throughholes in feet I I2 and in lugs H3, in which they fit loosely, limit theupward motion of either side of the motor under the torque strains.Whenmy invention is applied to this conventional type of floating powerapparatus,

the double valve 38, controlling the bleed opening 32, may be connecteddirectly to the free end of a fairly stiff leaf spring I I8, which hasits other end clamped to the motor casing by the screw I I1. When thecar is at rest, or the motor is disconnected from the transmission bydisengagement of the clutch, the rubber springs or pads, Ill, lll, areequally compressed and the spring 8 is so adjusted that the bleed valveheads 38, 38,'are both some distance from the bleed port 32. The instantthe clutch is thrown into engagement, however, an initial contactbetween the plates thereof occurs, the reaction of the torque applied tothe rear axle causes the floating motor to twist slightly in onedirection or the other, according to the gear in mesh, if the gear boxis a part of the motor casing as is now customary. This compresses oneor the other of the rubber pads Ill, lll, lowers or raises the valve,and closes bleed opening 32. If the motion of the motor casing continuesafter the valve is closed, the spring 8 flexes, and breakage of theparts is thereby avoided.

Both of the forms of apparatus shown in Figs. 9 and 18 also operateequally well whether the Among the advantages resultingltrom the use oimy invention the followinlfmay be pointed j out: When usedias asupplement toanother "two-sta e" mechanismit autom'atic ally chronises:the inception oi; the second, slower we or movements with the mo f mentof suilieiently close clutch moment to" start or accelerate,'the,car;which is the moment this should bedonew 'inisresiutirou wsiirom,

the (act that the bleedclosureisincited y such clutch closure, itself;there is avoided of the recurrent necessitiesjior readjustinzgIthelenathoi piston rod 4, connecting piston I to lever I, to compensate forproaressive wear oithe clutch partsvor pivot connections thereto whicharisewhen'fan ordinary two-stare mechanism is used alone.'l'he-action-.ot all forms of the present invention is alsoautomatigiven to thecar, because the action oi the bleed closure is moreprompt and complete and more prolonged when the cards sharplyaccelerated, asin starting from rest, or'in coins from first, to secondgear, than when less .accel-, erated, as when soingi'rom secondtolthird. or

direct drive ear. Consequently the full clutch closure iscorrespondingly delayed in diriect pro portion tcthe sharpnessotacceleration, and the t increased liability toresultantclutch grabbingand Jumping, and Jerking oi the car, lsthereby,

avoided. Under slight acceleration; on the other hand, theinitiationoi'jthe bleed closureis dlayed, or the valve closure may notbe quite completed and, if completed, soon, ended, so that,

complete clutch, closure occurs ,more promptly. which is thenpermissible, andlslipl inl andconsequent wear or the clutch iaces tothat extent reduced, when nota necessary evil intentionally incuredtoavoid the more objectionable strainingot thetransmission parts andioltlng otthe car occupants in cases of sharp acceleration:

The method oiflactuatina the. *bleedfvalve by traction torque-produced,relative motlonoi'por tions oi'thecaritselLsuchasshowninHaslt and 10,are most advantageous ortheir I parctically instantaneous action momentv clutch contact occurs, 1 This action most as promptly as inthecase oiwheel form shown in Fla. 8. Also in theitorque operated forms the forcescalled uponi'or their operation are poweriul, and never falling,

7theactionontheblwd=valve is secondary, inthesensethat whole car must beput into motion, ,or a definite degree of acceleration of itswmotionmusthave lumbecomes eflective to close the hleed, rigs. oandionosuchlagand onsequent is needed. The valveycloses beiore the carandchassisare moved or accelerated. Another advantaae results from thefact; that although when coastinginany car, iorwardor reverse, with acar equipped with automatic clutch control otthe typeshown in v Fla. 1,1! the acoderatoris depressed to speed and consequently a disasreeahlysudden, but temporary, braking eifect is felt by the car occupants, thiseirect is eliminated by :the doubleactinz, inertia operated valve of, mypresent incally sell-adjusting to conform to the; decree, oi 1 occursal-1.

unthe-ensine f, theclutch ensues before the cosine speedhas come up'tosynchronismwith thefclutch fille 8, 8 13 car is resting on a level underonwasrade.

ve u nl wmenchecks the-clutch soon as a slisht deoelera tion thisalrunning) whenever iaesuiiiciently close contact betweemthea-olutchparts oocurs nwhether the, motor is runnini 'iasterr than; the can: orvice versa.= e v 1 Various changes could be various details oioonst'iwtion-hereillustratedandhereinbeiore without departing r from :the 1underlying principle oi; the invention, so ions as the inertiaot somemason, orain thelcsrlis the the rate of. clutchclosure at or! about timethe clutch plates oomeiinoontact. Otheriorms oi valvespand ot valve 0embodiments oi theinvention here and equally good results member or a'motor and means producing be substitutedior thosesho wn insthewariousLto .arreataor slow down wouldtj-hel wohtained iii the a lrelativelyoigclutchycloaina movement oi automatic1 mocha-y or" movement'oisaidmember,

enersisadhy the Olllid motor for actuating the clutch controlling memberof a motor car, and a valve for controlling the flow of air foroperating said servo-motor, of mechanism operative by virtue of theinertia o of an element thereof to move said valve toward closedposition whenever such car starts to move, or has its motion materiallyaccelerated.

6. A combination such as defined in claim in which said mechanismincludes, as elements thereof, a mass yieldingly supported-withreference to the traction wheels of the car and an operative connectionfrom said mass to said valve.

7. In a power-operated, clutch-actuating l5 mechanism for a motor carcomprising means for automatically producing a relatively rapid initialstage of movement of clutch closure and a retarded final stage of suchmovement, the combination, with said above described apparatus, ofautomatic mechanism operative by virtue of the inertia of an elementthereof for practically arresting temporarily said clutch closingmovement at substantially the instant when the car begins to move, orhas its motion materially accelerated.

8. The combination of a pneumatic servomotor controlling the clutch of amotor car, an automatic apparatus controlling in part the flow of airfor said servo-motor so as to produce two 80 stages of clutch closingmovement thereof having different speeds, a bleed connection to the airspace in said servo-motor and a valve controlling said connectionautomatically movable toward closed position whenever a closure of suchclutch, sufllcient to' start the car in motion, occurs;

whereby the clutch closing movement is practically arrested temporarilyat said moment.

9. The combination of a pneumatic servomotor controlling the clutch of amotor car, an 40 automatic apparatus controlling in part the flow of airfor said servo-motor so as to produce two stages of clutch closingmovement thereof having diflerent speeds, a bleed connection alsocontrolling in part said flow of air, and a valve controlling said bleedconnection, together with a mass yieldingly supported on the runninggear of the car, and connections from said mass to said valve operativeto move said valve toward closed position whenever the conditions as tomotion of said car are sharply modified.

10. The combination with a motor car and automatic clutch-controllingmechanism therefor, of a pendulum suspended on the car so as to swinglongitudinally thereof, means, controlling in part the operation of theclutchcontrolling mechanism, operatively connected to the pendulum;whereby on starting the car into motion or suddenly accelerating ordecelerating the car motion, the consequent oscillation of the 00pendulum will modify the action of the clutchcontrolling mechanism, anda device for automatically adjusting parts of said mechanism cooperatingwith said pendulum, so that its accuracy of action will not be impairedwhen the car is ascending or descending a grade, however steep.

11. The combination with a motor car, a pendulum suspended therefrom anda valve, of mechanism operatively connecting said pendulum and valvecomprising a fluid chamber having a fine leakage port in its wall, andtwo flexible diaphragms also set in said walls, one of which diaphragmsis connected to said pendulum and the other to said valve; wherebyportions of fluid 76 may slowly enter or leave said chamber through saidleakage port without moving said valve as the diaphragm connected tosaid pendulum-is slowly flexed when the car goes from a level to anincline or vice versa, but cannot move through said port quickly enoughto prevent said valve 5 operating diaphragm. being'sharply flexedcoincidentally with any sudden oscillation of said pendulum resultingfrom starting, acceleration 1 or deceleration of the car.

12. The combination, with a power-operated l0 device for actuating theclutch of a motor car comprising a pneumatic servo-motor having a bleedconnection and a valve for controlling said bleed connection, of a flywheel loosely iournalled on such car and spring means for driving said15 fly wheel from some portion of the power trans mission gearingthereof, together with means operated by any lag in the rotation of saidfly wheel relative to that of said gearing for operating said valve. 20

13. A combination such as defined in claim 12 in which said flywheel hasa worm-geared mounting on the speedometer operating shaft of the motorcar, and a spiral spring which surrounds and has one end anchored tosaid shaft and its 25 mounting for a portion of its traction producing88 apparatus, of means for checking the. clutch closing movement of saidmember temporarily whenever a sharp variation in the traction torqueproduces an appreciable shift in the position of said yieldingly mountedtraction producing apparatus 40 relative to the car chassis.

15. The combination, with a motor car having a spring supported drivingaxle housing, and power operated mechanism for actuating its clutch, ofa mechanism for controlling said clutch 45 actuating mechanismoperatively connected to said axle housing; whereby, whenever asumciently complete closure of said clutch causes said spring mountingto yield, and said axle housing to rotate slightly by torque reaction,the opera- 50 tion of said clutch controlling mechanism will bemodified.

16. The combination, with a motor car having a pneumatic servo-motor foroperating its power transmission clutch, of a bleed valve for said 55servo motor, and means for moving said valve toward closed positionoperated by any sudden changes in the rear axle torque of the car.

17. An automotive vehicle comprising a clutch,

a gaseous fluid operated motor for controlling so the engagement anddisengagement of the clutch, means for controlling the gaseous pressurewithin said motor to provide two distinct stages of movement of theclutch during its clutch engaging operation, and means, operableaccording to the 5 rate of change of speed of the vehicle, forcontrolling the last stage of clutch engaging movement.

18. In apparatus of the type described, the combination with a clutchincluding normally en- 70 gaged driving and driven elements, a lever tocontrol the speed of the driving element, means under control of thelever for disengaging the clutch elements and inertia means responsiveto variations in the speed of the driven element of the 7s -19 2mm 1m 1member o m qtorxmnnd "avatar nluhh W i h" W9 1 v P :thwm fl 6! d otmech-51medsl l mmmd drlven cl mcnwmlmmh wen l sxbvvlxtueotmemermotmeu- 5lever tocontrol o1 ment them! towerate aid valve whenever such a fluidmotor nude; otipldlever fondlh car in eithermadngtheclutchelementimdlnerthmeanl f w responsive tovariationslnppeedp! thav drlven v v v 10 e1 no: the clutchtorcontrolling meme of 1 YJQDINHMCCOLLW m reengazeinent of the c1uthelements.

